Blueprint for developing a rugby province. It is our belief that increasing the size of the provincial academy and the quality of coaching those players receive will have a direct impact on further improving club rugby, school rugby, and the numbers of local players emerging onto the provincial side. A larger academy has a direct impact on club rugby from Qualifying League level up. A larger academy has players playing at Qualifying league 1 level in their first year!
The average pro rugby player signs their first pro contract somewhere in and around the age of 18 – 24 years old. Each of these players is a direct result of 2 things Genetic Potential & Environmental inputs. Identifying the right players and inputting the right things leads to more advanced outcomes. The greater number of players who receive the right inputs the greater the returns.
Furthermore, developing a team and community ethos yields more returns than not doing this.
ITEMS THAT IN OUR OPINION MAKE AN IMPACT ARE:
1) Increase the number of schools and clubs, and hence the playing population. We currently have the largest combined number in Ireland.
2) Make available to that group of people, education about the game, about fitness training, about team work, and provide education to coaches about the latest developments.
3) Allow that group of people to emerge from youth and school to club rugby with pathways that transition and make available opportunities to play at levels that challenge in a tiered way that group so they develop in a sustained manner.
4) Develop academies that allow increasing numbers of talent to play at higher levels in a tiered way starting with Qualifying league rugby and working up to Provincial level.
5) Increase the size of the group of emerging talent in the provincial academy (20 is probably a minimum at the moment) and release that talent to club rugby each week so that their ever increasing knowledge is available at club level.
7) Support clubs and schools with the highest level of coaching EG if their are 7 pro coaches then 7 clubs and schools get considerable commitment from those coaches.
8) Support clubs by releasing academy talent regularly so that talent can play.
THE ACADEMY CONVEYOR BELT OF TALENT 3-4 year Pathway to Province & Country.
It is common knowledge that the most successful Rugby Nation in the world (coincidently with a smaller population than Ireland) is increasing its national Squad size, a little research will show that the size of provincial squads are growing, a little more research and crucially the size of provincial academies are growing.
An academy typically works on a 3-4 year cycle. If an Academy is 20 strong and operates on a 3 year cycle then each year 5-7 players join the academy and 5-7 players move into the SNR provincial squad.
YEAR 1) Talent has arrived in the form X number of players, this talent begins to have the input of Provincial level coaching across the spectrum of S&C, Nutrition, Game Time, Written material. This talent is ready for exposure to a higher level of rugby. This talent however is not necessarily ready for AIL rugby and therefore plays at Qualifying 1 league level (BIG BENEFITS IN THIS!)
The benfits of this first year to clubs are several. 1. The club receives a player or perhaps two at Q1 level who has played 18 years or more of rugby education and experience and is ready to get involved in adult rugby so the club is receiving an extra high level player into their already superb structures. 2. The player experiences the highest level of JNR rugby, a level that on any given day can easily compete at AIL and also may have former AIL players in the squad, and will definitely have professional coaching and a wealth of the clubs and peoples experience in that club. 3. The club attracts more sponsorship and spectators as they could be witnessing the nest top pro player at a development level.
4) JNR Club rugby feels and thereby is directly involved in developing talent.
YEAR 2) Players from year one move into year 2, they change clubs into senior AIL rugby, and all the benefits of year one are repeated for these clubs.
YEAR 3) Players from year 2 move into year 3, they emerge here at the highest levels of AIL rugby that province can offer, and again the benefits for the clubs and player are maintained.
The entire focus of the academy is to increase the number of players and the quality of outcome in the academy. Increasing the number of academy players directly increases the quality of rugby played from Q1 to AIL A1.
Ignoring what other provinces are doing is simply ignoring the proven way to develop a rugby province!
IF you do not develop your province then you will be desparately signing talent from other countries when their is a very high playing population locally, which does not add up.
A province should have more academy players than provinces with less clubs and schools, the alternative makes no sense at all.
Its a simple conclusion, increasing the number of Academy players to 20, then 25, then 30, increases the number of talented players playing at club rugby level who are part of the provincial team set up. The province thereby has an improved playing CV. The players are bringing the benefits of their selection to the academy to the clubs.
We will be looking at other issues such as the number of games played in future articles.
